Prolekult
Prolekult is a Marxist-Leninist youtube channel currently made up of 2 individuals: James Bell and Alex Bushell. The pair have done extensive research and work into making the feature-length documentary History is Marching as well as several other short videos and poems. As of August 2019, Prolekult is working to make a second feature film A Dying Culture. Etymology Prolekult is derived from the experimental Soviet art movement Proletkult which stands for "proletarskaya kultura" (proletarian culture). Incorrectly, some people have thought it to mean a cult. Feature Length Documentaries History is Marching The first feature length, History is Marching, was released to YouTube on December 8th, 2018. As of Febuary 2020, HiM holds the place of Prolekult's most popular video to date with a viewership of about 44k. The film is split into 7 parts, each corresponding to a particular topic, all relevant to the film's analysis of rising tensions between capitalist imperialist blocs, which builds up the ending argument for socialism. The 7 parts describe as followed: # Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism # Post-War Boom/Globalization/Great Power Competition (1945-2018) # US Imperialism and Donald Trump # EU Imperialism competing with the US # British Imperialism and Brexit # Capitalism and Climate Change # Imperialist World War (WW3) and the Response of Socialism The film runs about 2 hours and 14 minutes, making it the second longest of Prolekult's videos. Despite the length, History is Marching has gotten majorly positive reviews with 91% likes. Critiques of the documentary are few and scrambled jabs, usually by right-wing accounts. A Dying Culture Prolekult's second feature-length documentary, A Dying Culture, ''was released on December 8th, 2020. As of Febuary 2020, ADC stands as Prolekult's second most viewed film with a viewership of about 16k. It is also Prolekult's longest film. ADC discusses the background, history, and eventual demise of the dominant culture of imperialist nations, socio-ludic postmodernism. The film is split into 3 "acts" which is made up of 17 parts in total. Although this in itself constitutes a large amount of content, the original unedited script included parts that were cut out to save time. These parts are planned to be the focus of a new 2020 short video series titled ''Studies of a Dying Culture'.'' The 17 parts are described as followed: # Introduction: Outlines the film's argument on socio-ludic culture. # WTF is Culture: Explaining the Marxist base-superstructure analysis of culture # The Ruling Ideas: Antonio Gramsci's concept of hegemony. # Art and Capital: The Marxist analysis of art and it's role in capitalism. # WTF is Postmodernism: History of modernism and the characteristics of postmodernist thought. # Famine of Abundance: Argument that the capitalist economic crisis leads to ideological crisis. # History of the Internet: A brief history of the internet's development up to 1989. # Significant of Video in Play: A look at games and its socio-ludic aesthetic form, video games. # War and Pleasure: Involvement of the imperialist state propaganda in video games. Short Documentaries Bolivar Cuts the Sky Prolekult released it's first short documentary, Bolivar Cuts the Sky, on March 25, 2019. It's length is about 45 minutes and covers the Crisis in Venezuela which captivated US attention after John Guido's declaration of interim presidency on January 23rd. The film starts off describing the historical context of Venezuela from the Venezuelan War of Independence that was helped led by Simon Bolivar against the colonizers to Venezuela of the 20th Century that was dominated by neo-liberal and imperialist exploiters under military dictatorships and the Puntofijo Pact, including short discussion of anti-imperialist movements of Latin America (particularly in Cuba and Nicaragua). This is followed with the breakdown of the Third Republic, the election of Chavez and the creation of the Fourth Republic, and the progress under the Bolivarian Revolution. The rest of the films describes Guaido's background and connection with American imperialists, the motive for US intervention, and its methods. Selling Extinction Released on April 26, 2019, Selling Extinction critiques the notion of the "Green New Deal", a green capitalist policy plan to reinvigorate the capitalist phase from imperialism back to free competition (which is ultimately will circle back into exploitation) through mass mobilization of the population in a world war-esque level. The GND is one backed by Progressive Democrats, Greens, and protesting groups such as Extinction Rebellion (XR) as well as multiple NGOs. It has a runtime of 23 minutes. An Atlantic Tide Released June 2, 2019, An Atlantic Tide follows up on the great power competition between the US and EU, discussed in ''History is Marching. ''It includes updated detail on policy and economic conflicts between the two powers as the United States began to infuriate the tensions with Iran following its retreat from the nuclear deal it had entered in 2015. The short video runs about 14 minutes and ends with a chilling speech from Vice President Pence to West Point graduates, marking the US anticipation for a global war on all fronts and continents. Madrugada Released December 3, 2019, Madrugada looks at the the rise of anti-neoliberal protests and the imperialist counter-reaction across the globe, particularly focusing this video on the yellow vests of France and the fascist takeover of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. It advocates the need for genuine anti-imperialist struggle. Madrugada analyses the contradictions within the yellow vest movement and its class character. For Bolivia, it looks into the background of coup leader Luis Camacho and how the downfall of the Bolivian socialist movement aids imperialist efforts in other countries of the region, such as Chile which is under intensive protests by the working class.